Let me say the thing nobody says at the beginning of these guides. You do not need a perfect body to do boudoir. You do not need expensive lingerie. You do not need to look like the women in the photos you've been saving on Pinterest. You do not need to be a certain size, a certain age, or a certain version of yourself before you're "ready." You are ready now. Exactly as you are. I've photographed brides the week before their wedding. Women celebrating a birthday that felt li

Some wedding venues are backdrops. Aspen & Alston is a story waiting to be told. Tucked into 9 acres of English countryside-inspired grounds just north of Columbus in Ostrander, Ohio, Aspen & Alston is a boutique barn venue that opened its doors in 2024 · and it's already becoming one of Central Ohio's most photogenic wedding spaces. I want to tell you about this venue not as a checklist of features, but as a storyteller. Because that's what a wedding day is · and this proper

If you're planning a wedding right now, you've probably run into two vendor titles that sound similar but do very different things · Wedding videographer. Wedding content creator. Some couples think these are the same. Some vendors are marketing them as interchangeable. And couples end up confused, over-budget, or worst · booking the wrong service for what they actually wanted. I'm a Columbus, Ohio wedding photographer and videographer, and I want to give you the honest break

A while back on my podcast, I told you how to research a wedding vendor before you hire them. I gave you a five-step framework · look for a contract, confirm they're a legitimate business, check reviews across multiple platforms, ask the hard questions, and trust your gut. I told you the story of a videographer who tragically passed away without a contingency plan, and the story of brides who were ghosted by vendors who took their money and disappeared. I told you that "do yo

If you're planning a Columbus, Ohio wedding, chances are Jorgensen Farms has already come across your radar. There's a reason for that. Tucked into 100 acres of pristine farmland in Westerville, Ohio · about 20 minutes northeast of downtown Columbus · Jorgensen Farms has been quietly earning its reputation as one of Central Ohio's most sought-after wedding venues for years. Two distinct spaces on one property. In-house floral, catering, and coordination. A working organic far

The first time I set foot on Camp Mary Orton, I was in elementary school. My private Christian school had brought us out for a field trip · one of those team-building days where the goal was to work through the ropes course together and figure out how to solve problems as a group of eight-year-olds. I remember the tall trees. I remember the way the air felt different once you were on the property. I remember the sound of my friends laughing. Years later, I was working a corpo

Let me tell you about a photo you've probably seen. Maybe you've been in it. You're at a cookout. Or a wedding. Or a graduation. Someone holds up their phone and says everyone squeeze in. You smile. The flash goes off. And then someone hands the phone around and you look at yourself in the picture and · you're not there. Not really. Your friend, your cousin, your partner · the person standing next to you with lighter skin · they look great. And you? You're a smile floating in

Ten years from now, you will forget what your linens looked like. You'll forget the exact wording on the welcome sign. You'll forget which flowers were in the centerpieces. You'll forget half of your first-dance song lyrics. But if you have a wedding video - you will remember the sound of your father's voice during his toast. You will hear the exact way your partner said "I do." You will watch your mom cover her mouth when you appeared at the top of the aisle · a moment you d

There's a kind of wedding day that asks a lot of a photographer. A Catholic Mass at a downtown cathedral. A formal portrait session in the city. A reception at a riverfront brewery hall with a Reds Hall of Fame view. Three completely different worlds, three completely different lighting setups, three completely different energies · all inside ten hours. Kyle and Marie's wedding on May 23rd was exactly that day. And after photographing it, I want to write the post I wish I cou

I get asked the same question a lot lately: what's a wedding venue in Ohio that doesn't look like every other wedding venue in Ohio? After Brianna and Codie's wedding on May 30th, I have an answer. The Graystone Ranch. Tucked down a long gravel lane in Arcanum, Ohio · about 30 minutes west of Dayton · this 26-acre ranch is the kind of place that ruins you for other venues. I'd photographed Brianna and Codie's engagement session here months earlier, so I came to their wedding